Education union calls for talks

CORNWALL – Local education workers are calling on the provincial government to begin contract talks now instead of waiting until their contract expiration in August.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees local 4154, which represents over 800 education assistants and non-teaching employees with the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, is calling for Education Minister Paul Calandra to begin contract talks now.

“It is critical that we move to the bargaining table as soon as possible,” said Local 4154 President Trudy Scott. Calling out the CDSBEO, Scott said the situation in that board’s schools is unmanageable. “There is not enough funding to ensure a custodian is present in every school when students are on site, to guarantee early childhood educators in every kindergarten classroom, or to provide the staffing supports students need to learn safely. This includes classroom support, properly maintained schools, effective school office operations, and adequate supervision and safety monitoring at all grade levels.”

CUPE, and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions has claimed that the provincial government cut per-pupil funding by $1.4 billion in the 2025-26 school year. Education funding in Ontario increased from 2024-25 to 2025-26, but at below the inflation rate.

In 2025, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said in a report on funding that the Ontario government has underfunded education cumulatively by $6.35 billion since 2018-19.

Scott said that the lack of funding for education workers and classroom supports is strain on students, parents, and school staff.

“This will be a challenging round of negotiations, and meaningful, sustainable solutions must begin at the bargaining table,” she said.

The union and the OSBCU said they are ready to begin negotiations now to avoid any potential labour disputes.

“There can be no ‘business as usual’ while education workers and students bear the brunt of chronic underfunding,” said OSBCU President Joe Tigani. “Early bargaining is critical to stabilizing our schools and addressing the staffing crisis before it becomes even more severe.”

The union is calling for more funding to increase the number of non-teaching education workers in the province. According to statistics provided by CUPE, 96 per cent of educational assistants and child and youth workers experience violent or disruptive incidents in their workplace — 55 per cent claim it happens on a daily basis.

The province last negotiated education contracts in 2022-23. At that time, CUPE workers across the province went on strike following the passage of legislation that sought to head off a strike by non-teaching education workers. That legislation banned the 55,000 workers from striking and imposed a contract on the union.

Locally, Upper Canada District School Board and CDSBEO schools switched to remote learning for a number of days in early November 2022 while the labour dispute took place. The labour dispute then saw more than one million students out of school.